Herodian's Roman
History

Herodian
(late second, first half third century): Greek historian, author of a History
of the Roman Empire since the Death of Marcus Aurelius (table
of contents) in which he describes the reign of
Commodus (180-192), the Year of the Five Emperors (193), the age of the
Severan dynasty (211-235),
and the Year of the Six Emperors (238).

The translation was made by Edward C. Echols (Herodian of Antioch's History of
the Roman Empire, 1961 Berkeley and Los Angeles) and was
put online for the
first time by Roger Pearse (Tertullian.Org).
The version offered on these pages is hyperlinked and contains notes by
Jona Lendering.

Publius Helvius Pertinax
(Rijksmuseum van oudheden)

2.3: Pertinax and the Senate

[1 January 193]After he was established in the
imperial palace, to which he had been escorted by the praetorians and
the people by night, as has been related above, Pertinax
was beset by
serious doubts; indeed, although in all matters he gave the appearance
of being calm and courageous, in the present situation he was very
apprehensive. The emperor was little concerned about his own safety (he
had many times scorned much greater dangers), but he was worried about
this abrupt change from the autocracy of Commodus
and about the noble
ancestry of certain of the senators. He suspected that these senators,
after having been ruled by the most nobly born of all the emperors,
would not be willing to let the reins of government fall into the hands
of a man who came to the high
office from humble and undistinguished antecedents.

The Senate House

Even
if his life deserved admiration for its restraint, and even if his
military exploits were famous, in nobility of birth he was much
inferior to the aristocracy. When daylight came, he went to the Senate
house, but he did not allow the sacred fire to be carried
before him
nor did he permit any of the imperial tokens to be raised until he had
determined how the Senate
felt about the situation.

But
as soon as he appeared, all the senators with one voice shouted his
praises, calling him emperor and Augustus.
At first he declined the
envy-provoking title of emperor and, pleading his advanced years,
begged to be permitted to decline the honor, pointing out that there
were many men of noble birth by whom the empire might more fittingly be
ruled. At this, Glabrionus [1]
took him by the hand and led him forward,
bidding him take his seat upon
the imperial throne.

This
Glabrionus was the most nobly born of all the Roman aristocrats (for he
traced his ancestry to Aeneas, son of Venus and Anchises, and he had
served two terms as consul.
"I
myself," Glabrionus said, "whom you consider the most eligible of all,
yield the throne to you, and I together with all the rest happily
concur in awarding you the supreme power." Then, with all of them
pleading with him and actually forcing him to accept the position,
Pertinax mounted the imperial throne slowly and reluctantly and
addressed the Senate as follows:

"I
am persuaded that
your great readiness to do me honor, the extraordinary enthusiasm with
which you acclaim me, and your selection of me as emperor in preference
to those among you of such noble birth, has in it not the slightest
intent to flatter, but is proof and pledge of your good will toward me.
And this might make another ready and eager to accept without
hesitation what has been entrusted to him, and he might reasonably
entertain a hope of managing the empire with no difficulty among
subjects so kindly disposed toward him.

But
these favors which
I am receiving at your hands, so great and so flattering, although I am
aware of the honor they do me, cause me no little apprehension and
inner conflict. For, when the initial favors are so great, it is always
difficult to do equal favors in return. Now when anyone who receives
small favors does greater favors in return, the fact that this is an
easy matter is never taken into consideration; it is thought to be
merely evidence of his gratitude. But when the initial favor is
virtually unsurpassable, if the recipient does not return one equally
large, the fact that this is a difficult matter is never taken into
consideration; it is thought to be merely evidence of his ingratitude
and lack of appreciation.

I
see, therefore, that
no ordinary task awaits me in proving myself worthy of such an honor as
you have bestowed upon me. But the honor of the throne lies not in the
throne itself, but in the acts which he who holds it must perform if he
is not to disgrace his high office. The more men hate an unpleasant
past, the more hopefully they look forward to a pleasant future.
Injuries are remembered forever (the memory of pain is difficult to
erase), but benefits and the memory of benefits disappear when the
enjoyment of them is gone.

Freedom
is never so
pleasant as slavery is unpleasant, and no one ever considers himself
fortunate to possess what is his free from danger; he thinks that he is
simply enjoying his own possessions. But the man who is deprived of his
property never forgets the man responsible for his loss. And if any
change takes place for the common good, no one thinks that he has
derived from it any personal benefit, since, when the common good
prospers, it is of little concern to the whole group as individuals.
With respect to his own affairs, no one believes that anything is of
value to him unless he happens
to obtain something he personally desires.

But
those who have grown accustomed to reveling in the extravagant excesses
of a tyranny not only object to any change toward a more moderate and
more economical way of life occasioned by a shortage of money, not
terming it sensible economy or planned and judicious management, but
they reject it as a mean and wretched way to live, oblivious to the
fact that had it not been for the loot taken by pillage and plunder,
they could never have enjoyed their luxurious way of life. On the other
hand, to give to every man all things according to his worth and for
logical reasons, without committing any injustices, and not to supply
him with an abundance of money gained from illegal sources teaches
prudent conservation of
things supplied in quantity.

And
so you, who are skilled in these matters, must cooperate with me and
consider the management of the empire as a joint enterprise, and you
must entertain high hopes of living under an aristocracy, not under a
tyranny, and you must confirm this for all our subjects."

By
this speech, Pertinax encouraged the senators and received the plaudits
of them all. After awarding him every honor and every token of
respect, they escorted the new emperor to the temple of Jupiter and the
rest of the shrines; when he had completed the sacrifices for his
reign, he entered the imperial palace.